Trip to Osaka.

My friend and I are planning a trip in Nov. We were deciding between thailand and japan and ultimately decided on Osaka.

Few questions I had were..

1. What are the thigns to see in Osaka? What are the main sights. Any festivals,tours etc.. the standard "touristy" stuff... Is it going to be like Canada here... if so we'd rather go to Thailand since it's different atmosphere.

2. What's the nightlife like? We are 23 and would like to spend some night sout at clubs, bars, pubs etc.... Are there some good places in Osaka for this?

3. How difficult is is to get to Hiroshima from Osaka? What are some things to see in hiroshima and/or Kyoto?

If anyone has been to both Osaka and Bangkok, what are your thoughts for first time visitors to both. We will end up seeing the other next year probably anyway so... which is recommended first.

Also... how is the weather in Osaka in November?

Thanks!

I'm just curious as to why you've narrowed down your destination to Osaka? Osaka is lovely by all means, but it is a working city, rather than a touristy city. It is VERY easy to travel to other parts of Japan (eg Kyoto or Hiroshima) from Osaka (or Kansai International Airport which is where I assume you'll be flying into). My recommendation would be to spend more time in Kyoto, see Hiroshima also and by all means spend some time in Osaka as it would have more nightlife than Kyoto and Hiroshima. If you bought a Rail Pass you could even be in Tokyo in under three hours on the train.

Yes, Osaka is different to Canada but I would say Thailand would be more different as it's still a developing nation.

1. What are the thigns to see in Osaka? What are the main sights. Any festivals,tours etc.. the standard "touristy" stuff...

Probably Osaka castle, but you can see any kinds of Japanese "original" historical momuments in other nearby cities such as Kyoto, Nara or Himeji. So I recommend downtowns when in Osaka.

2. What's the nightlife like? We are 23 and would like to spend some night sout at clubs, bars, pubs etc.... Are there some good places in Osaka for this?

Yes. There are tons.

3. How difficult is is to get to Hiroshima from Osaka? What are some things to see in hiroshima and/or Kyoto?

As far as you travel along the Tokaido-Sannyo Shinkansen Line (Tokyo - Yokohama - Nagoya - Kyoto - Osaka - Kobe - Himeji - Hiroshima - Fukuoka), your travel is never difficult and the public transpotation is very efficient there.

Well chose Osaka because I figured it would be cheaper than Tokyo. Wanted a bigger city for some clubs and bars and stuff (not a ''family vacation''). Figured the neighbouring cities wouldnt be so far from it so to see some historical stuff during the day hours.

Any other recommendations?

thanks for the responses.

Osaka is definitely one of my favorite cities in the world (and yes I know London and Paris very well).It is the centre of a region with over 20 millions people. Kyoto, Nara and Kobe (plus a lot of other and not well known cities) are practically all jammed together. Kyoto and Nara are very old former capitals of Japan and have a huge number of historical buildings. Osaka itself is compact but there is a lot more to see than most people think. check www.osaka-info.jp/en/. You can go to any of the 3 cities above in 30 minutes to 1 1/2hr by frequent commuter trains. Himeji castle is a great place, don't miss it!

Check out the Umeda Sky building (think that's what its called). It's a bit pricey (700 yen for admission per person) but you get a really great view of osaka.

2. What's the nightlife like? We are 23 and would like to spend some night sout at clubs, bars, pubs etc.... Are there some good places in Osaka for this?

Yes. There are tons.

Can you give some examples of the area these places are located in.. even some names of places (for when booking our hotel).

Is Osaka not the best place to go for these kindsa things? As someone said it's a working city? We aren't necessarily tied to Osaka. We have 2 - 2.5 weeks. Can stay in two cities if we want to even. Is Tokyo or somewhere else more suited for us you think?

We still want to see historical things and some other cities. so don't want to go to far away from that.. but if everything is close (via train) then doesnt really matter. Would then rather be somewhere close to where we can drink and have fun etc.....

sry for all questions. just really dont know what to expect..

Thanks!

1. Dotombori(Minami area)
http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/search/detail/sightseeing_2045.h...

2. Kitashinchi(Kita area)
http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/search/detail/sightseeing_3187.h...

3. NightClubs
http://wikitravel.org/en/Osaka#Drink

I think I can reply to your questions later :)

Is it safe to go to the clubs there?? How are the people? Will they talk to you? or try? or just ignore you altogether??? What are the clubs and bars like there?

From your posts it sounds to me that you would enjoy Bangkok far more than Osaka- much cheaper too. There isn't really that much difference in costs between Tokyo and Osaka.

Can you explain???

since I actually speak quite a bit of Japanese but have never been I was more looking forward to Japan... but from what I read they are both quite nice places to visit...

Is Osaka not the best place to go for these kindsa things?

This question is difficult to answer XD, since the Tokyoites believe Tokyo is th best place for this in Japan while the Osakans believe Osaka is, as wikitravel article also says.

One thing I can say is you can't go to all the nightclubs in Osaka or Tokyo for 2 or 3 weeks no matter what amount of money you have, so this is a matter of your own preference,

I personally think Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolis is more fun than Tokyo metropolis since it offers the widest variety of tourist attractions in Japan.

Is it safe to go to the clubs there?? How are the people? Will they talk to you? or try? or just ignore you altogether??? What are the clubs and bars like there?

Japan is safer than most of any other countries and nightlife culture is almost the same wherever in the world. Dont worry about these :)

Make sure you catch the shinkansen down to Himeji to see the castle - well worth it. Yes, Osaka will be a bit cheaper than Tokyo, accomodation will be anyway. Seeing a baseball game can be fun in Osaka if that interests you.

I havent been to osaka, but am intending to. I would definitely choose Osaka over Bangkok(I've been to bangkok). Bangkok is great but I think for a wider variety of interesting sights, Osaka is better.

most of the sites mentioned above are very touristy. you'll be sharing the tranquil temples and koens with thousand and thousands of people. japan is very crowded but orderly, super safe, super friendly, decent nightlife (although j-girls are very shy so don't expect much), the cities are not so esthetically pleasing, much more expensive overall. food is good.

bangkok is also crowded but the vibe is decidedly different. it feels more vibrant as it's chaotic, rich and poor, modern and old, all mixed together. not as safe, not as clean, nightlife is excellent. easier to travel in thailand as the infrastructures are more foreigner friendly. food is great. your money goes much further. you could enjoy a bowl of noodles for $1 and then go to the skybar on the top floor of banyan tree hotel and enjoy the view and a $10 martini. you feel much more free in bangkok...